Mr. Speaker, I have a few very simple questions for the President of Treasury Board.

Is he aware that Canadians pay him a bonus of $75,000 for being a cabinet member, in addition to his MP's salary? Therefore, when will he rise and tell Canadians what he is doing with their money? This conduct shows contempt and a lack of respect for Canadians.

Mr. Speaker, this issue has been thoroughly aired. This type of muckraking was rejected by Canadians in the last election campaign.

What Canadians expect of us is to focus on the priorities of Canadian families. That is jobs and the economy. That is providing the important services that the federal government does and that is what this government is going to continue doing.

There is a long-standing tradition that you cannot do indirectly what you are not allowed to do directly. This is the second time I have heard an indirect way of making an unparliamentary remark, so I think we will move on to the hon. member for Windsor—Tecumseh.

Mr. Speaker, the government is out of touch with the reality of Canadians when it comes to the safety of our communities. The Conservatives are playing politics with their omnibus bill on crime but they are not even aware of the cost. The job of parliamentarians is to study and debate bills but the Conservatives refuse to do so.

Why are the Conservatives refusing to work with the NDP to improve the safety of our communities and protect our youth and the rights of victims?

Rob NicholsonConservativeMinister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada

Mr. Speaker, I find it interesting that the NDP always objects to spending money when it comes to fighting violent crime. Now when it comes to spending money and threatening jail time for people who do not fill out the census, the NDP does not have a problem with that, or for farmers who do not like the Wheat Board, or those who do not agree with the long gun registry.

I am proud to be part of a party that knows where money should be spent and that is to go after violent criminals in this country, and he should be supporting that.

Mr. Speaker, we have heard repeatedly, and again just now, about the cost to victims but the government will not produce any evidence of that to this Parliament. That is exactly why we need to continue the study around these claims. The Conservatives are wrong to shut down debate on a bill which we have spent less than four minutes a page debating.

Later today, the NDP will propose fast-tracking parts of this bill; for example, parts that protect children from sexual abuse, that have already passed this Parliament once before and then proceed with a constructive debate on the rest. Will the government agree to that strategy?

Rob NicholsonConservativeMinister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada

Mr. Speaker, we offered to do that before, but then we got a majority and now the NDP has withdrawn that. Now he is saying that we are to leave out the part that goes after drug dealers, the people who bring drugs into this country, the people who sell drugs around schools. Nobody is going to agree to that. Let us get the whole thing passed. That is what Canadians want.

Mr. Speaker, the justice minister has been silent on the cost to taxpayers of the government's massive crime bill. This is the same government that, in the last Parliament, refused to provide information to the Parliamentary Budget Officer, so he could report to Canadians how much those crime bills would cost.

Are the Conservatives shutting down debate because they do not want Canadians to know the facts? When will the Conservatives come clean and release the real cost of this bill?

Rob NicholsonConservativeMinister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada

Mr. Speaker, let me tell members who has been silent. It is the NDP on the cost to victims in this country. We never hear a question about that coming from the NDP and, to be fair, the Liberals as well. They are in on that.

The Department of Justice estimated the cost of crime in this country is about $99 billion, of which 83% is borne by victims. If the hon. member is worried about the costs, he should start standing up for victims, just to make a change for the NDP.

Mr. Speaker, I want to tell that side of the House that crime is not a political wedge issue. We believe it is a public safety issue. Once again, Conservatives refuse to answer a direct question. Canadians deserve an answer. Millions of out of work Canadians want their government to invest in job plans, not in doubling the prison budget.

Why does the government hide behind its overused talking points instead of just telling Canadians what the real cost is of this crime bill?

Rob NicholsonConservativeMinister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada

Mr. Speaker, this is an investment to better protect Canadians in their homes and make them feel safer in their communities. I appreciate that is not a priority for the NDP. If members want detailed costs, look at the hundreds of pages that we tabled before the committee. That will give many hours of happy reading for NDP members, but I have a feeling that it will not convince them to start standing up for victims and law-abiding Canadians.

Mr. Speaker, our government is certainly focused on jobs and the economy. We are helping to put Canadians back to work as evidenced by the 600,000 new jobs created since July 2009. However, the opposition has another agenda that will destroy Canadian jobs and put our country deeply back into a recession.

Mr. Speaker, the Keystone XL pipeline will create over 140,000 good, high paying jobs in Canada. The NDP has decided to stand against these jobs and ally itself with a few environmental extremists who want to shutter all oil sands development. While the NDP continues to betray its job killing agenda, our government will continue to stand with the hundreds of thousands of Canadians who will benefit from this important project.

Mr. Speaker, last week, the Minister of the Environment said that the department could lose hundreds of scientists without any effect on basic services. But the government has cut 43% of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency's budget.

If assessing and preventing industrial impacts on our environment are not considered basic services, then can the minister explain what he means by “basic services”?

Mr. Speaker, first of all, I would correct my hon. colleague. The Environmental Assessment Agency has not been cut by 48% and the environment remains a priority of this government even at times of fiscal restraint. As we are doing across government, we will continue to take a close look at all of our spending over the next year and the results of this examination will be revealed in the budget in the spring.

Mr. Speaker, the minister, despite being asked multiple times, has still not said what he considers to be a core program, so perhaps the Minister of Health would like to answer a question because these programs are not only an environmental concern and surely the Minister of Health knows that the UV index created by Canada has lowered skin cancer rates and saved lives.

For the Minister of Health, will she have the courage to stand up for the health of Canadians?

Colin CarrieConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health

Mr. Speaker, as my colleague knows, our government does recognize the burden of cancer and the effect that it has on lives and the families who live with loved ones who have this horrible disease. That is why our government is supporting cancer control and prevention efforts, working with provincial and territorial governments as well as stakeholders from across Canada to reduce the burden of cancer. We are renewing $250 million over five years for the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer to continue its excellent work.

Mr. Speaker, this out-of-touch government seems more concerned with American unemployment than Canadian jobs. Why else would it ignore environmental concerns on both sides of the border and ship raw bitumen on the Keystone pipeline to the Gulf coast?

We all know it is not just oil sands bitumen that will flow through that pipeline. It is good paying Canadian jobs.

Will this out-of-touch government come clean about what the Keystone pipeline really means to Canadian families: a loss of good paying Canadian jobs?

Mr. Speaker, the NDP talking about jobs and the oil sands is frankly ridiculous. The NDP's former environment critic called for a moratorium on oil sands development. The Keystone XL pipeline will create over 140,000 jobs and $600 billion in economic activity. That is what the NDP is prepared to kill.

Mr. Speaker, the government is not doing anything to protect Canadians' jobs in the Keystone XL project. Thousands of well-paying, quality jobs will be transferred to the United States should the project go ahead. According to a study conducted by Informetrica, tens of thousands of Canadian jobs are at stake.

Why is this government sacrificing thousands of Canadian jobs for the sake of its relationship with the oil companies?